He's the man we love to hate, the one who always shows up just when Biggles and his friends least expect him ("like a confounded jack-in-the-box"), the one who never seems to be able to kill Biggles, even in Baltic where he actually has Biggles in a front of a firing squad. (Really, Erich? Are you just that incompetent or just that sentimental?)
In Flies East, the first book where Biggles meets him, Erich is described as tanned, wears a monocle, and walks with a limp. Oddly enough the limp and the monocle (as well as the cigarette holder he uses to smoke) seem to gradually disappear over time, although his hatred of Biggles doesn't (or at least up until the point when they bury the hatchet in the appropriately named Biggles Buries A Hatchet.)
Erich claims in Looks Back that he was also in love with Marie as Biggles was (isn't that just the greatest coincidence ever? And really, why didn't he just take her and have done with it and save us all--and Biggles--the agony and heartache?)
Is anyone a secret Erich fan? Would the series be different without him? Or do you hate him beyond belief? Share the love/hate in the comments below!
Share The Love
Showing posts with label Share The Love. Show all posts
Share The Love: Mahoney
Mahoney was arguably the first person who taught Biggles how to fly (in theory) when they first met on the ferry going to France. Mahoney appears constantly in Learns to Fly, and is the person responsible for Biggles' later transfer to 266.
 |
| Biggles Learns to Fly Image links to Amazon |
Throughout WWI Mahoney continues to act as occasional adviser (and sometimes co-conspirator) to Biggles' plans, usually depicted by Johns as the cool-headed war veteran who somehow manages to remain cheerful and calm throughout pretty much everything. Just like Mark Way, Mahoney is super nice.
It now strikes me that Mahoney (and Mac too) must be a highly exceptional pilot. Remember that Mahoney had already "had six months of it" when he first met Biggles, and Biggles was by anyone's standards a pretty good pilot for surviving for as long as he did, so Mahoney must be a seriously great pilot. (In which case, why did Raymond never ask him or Mac for help on his secret missions? Great Biggles mystery here?)
One great Mahoney moment for me is when a German pilot drops a note on 266 informing Biggles that he has bombed a wine cellar and inviting him to pay for the wine or meet up for a duel. Biggles is all ready to go for the duel, but he is "shouted down" by Mac and Mahoney. I don't know why that moment stuck with me, other than that it's really sweet.
In "The Packet" when Biggles goes off to retrieve a packet of documents for Raymond, it is Mahoney (and Mac) who comes to meet him and escort him home, "grinning derisively" as he scares off the Huns chasing Biggles.
 |
| Biggles and the Rescue Flight Image links to Amazon |
In Rescue Flight when Biggles and his flight come home without waiting for Mahoney's flight (who are backing up the rescue mission), Mahoney comes home indignant and, in Biggles' words, "cursing like a trooper, I bet, because we gave him the slip"!
Are you a Mahoney fan? Share the love in the comments below!
Share The Love: Mark Way
In case you don't already know: I LOVE Mark Way. He is second only to Algy in my affections.
There. Now that's out of the way...
There isn't too much of a description of Mark other than that he was tanned and keen-eyed (odd description, now that I come to think of it. How does "keen-eyed" look?) and came from New Zealand (but in my head he speaks with a British accent).
If not for Mark, Biggles would never have survived his first few days in the skies of wartime France. Mark only appears in one book (*sniff*) but his influence lingers on for the rest of Biggles' life. (I wonder if they ever met up for drinks after the war? Surely they met again? They must have met again!) Except for being unable to fly a plane--and I'm sure that in a pinch he could still manage to pilot one--Mark is Biggles' superior in every area of war experience. There is a bit in Learns to Fly where their plane is about to crash, and Johns tells us that Biggles marveled at how nothing could seem to shake Mark's calm. Quite a contrast to the hot-headed young pilot!
Another great passage (edited out in the Knight edition of Learns to Fly for some reason that I will never understand) is the scene where Biggles wakes up in the morning and tosses a pillow to rouse Mark. It's a rather childish thing to do, but really, most of them were just children, some straight out of school.
Is anyone else a Mark lover? Come along in and share the love below!
Share The Love: Bertie
I didn't know what to make of Bertie when I first read the Biggles books as a kid. My first meeting with Bertie was when I was reading the novelization of that movie, where he didn't really shine. (To be fair, no one really shone in that novelization of that movie, so it wasn't Bertie's fault.) The second time I met Bertie was in Biggles Flying Detective, where he got plenty of action chasing the bad guys, meeting Wilks (who he claims never to have met before, even though Wilks appears frequently in Spitfire Parade...did Johns forget about that? Was there any particular reason why Bertie had to have not met Wilks? Wouldn't it have been much easier for Bertie to see Wilks and say, "Ah, splendid, old boy. What a bit of luck running into you! You see Biggles has..."? Another mystery for us fans to ponder over!)
Some readers have claimed that Bertie is...slightly lacking in intelligence, or, at least, acts like he is. Biggles is often sarcastic and impatient with him and his ideas, and Bertie himself frequently admits that he isn't one for planning and taking charge and whatnot (strangely he is the only one of the four who does admit to that. I've never heard Algy or Ginger voice doubts about their own abilities, and for Biggles, of course, taking charge is as natural as breathing air.) However, before the rabid Bertie fans start loading their guns, let me point out that Bertie is by no means a bad leader. He has very clear ideas about right and wrong and expects other people to follow his example (as in Spitfire Parade when he first takes his new flight members out for an escorting mission). He is uncomfortable leading other people to deal with the unknown (as in Defends the Desert when he lets Ginger work out the plan of action) but he works very well on his own.
Bertie is clearly a good pilot/fighter. In Spitfire Parade Tex notes that he has "a couple of gongs". In Works It Out Ginger says to Marcel that if Bertie had wanted to shoot him down, he wouldn't be there because he would have been shot down. (Always loved it when Marcel stormed into the office asking why Bertie was shooting at him only to be told that by Ginger!)
I quite like how apologetic Bertie is whenever he gets hurt. In Flying Detective when he gets shot he tells Biggles that he "got his leg in the way. Silly thing to do" before passing out. Similarly in No Rest For Biggles when he is wounded by some natives he says to Biggles that he is sorry to cause everyone so much trouble!
But of course many of us love Bertie for his crazy antics--almost as legendary as Algy's--jumping into a river in Biggles Takes A Holiday because Algy jokingly suggests it, playing dead in Hunts Big Game (and getting quite indignant over the state of his clothes), clapping a cooking pot onto someone's head in Makes Ends Meet...
What are your favorite Bertie moments? Share the love in the comments section below!
Some readers have claimed that Bertie is...slightly lacking in intelligence, or, at least, acts like he is. Biggles is often sarcastic and impatient with him and his ideas, and Bertie himself frequently admits that he isn't one for planning and taking charge and whatnot (strangely he is the only one of the four who does admit to that. I've never heard Algy or Ginger voice doubts about their own abilities, and for Biggles, of course, taking charge is as natural as breathing air.) However, before the rabid Bertie fans start loading their guns, let me point out that Bertie is by no means a bad leader. He has very clear ideas about right and wrong and expects other people to follow his example (as in Spitfire Parade when he first takes his new flight members out for an escorting mission). He is uncomfortable leading other people to deal with the unknown (as in Defends the Desert when he lets Ginger work out the plan of action) but he works very well on his own.
Bertie is clearly a good pilot/fighter. In Spitfire Parade Tex notes that he has "a couple of gongs". In Works It Out Ginger says to Marcel that if Bertie had wanted to shoot him down, he wouldn't be there because he would have been shot down. (Always loved it when Marcel stormed into the office asking why Bertie was shooting at him only to be told that by Ginger!)
I quite like how apologetic Bertie is whenever he gets hurt. In Flying Detective when he gets shot he tells Biggles that he "got his leg in the way. Silly thing to do" before passing out. Similarly in No Rest For Biggles when he is wounded by some natives he says to Biggles that he is sorry to cause everyone so much trouble!
But of course many of us love Bertie for his crazy antics--almost as legendary as Algy's--jumping into a river in Biggles Takes A Holiday because Algy jokingly suggests it, playing dead in Hunts Big Game (and getting quite indignant over the state of his clothes), clapping a cooking pot onto someone's head in Makes Ends Meet...
What are your favorite Bertie moments? Share the love in the comments section below!
Share The Love: Ginger
Ginger has never been able to hold a candle to Algy in my affections, but even I have to admit that he does have his moments. One of my favorites is probably in Biggles In Spain (a book which might as well be named Ginger In Spain, as Biggles basically does close to nothing) where Ginger rushes to rescue Biggles and Algy, despite having a nasty cut on his arm that later causes him to pass out.
Another nice moment is in Swastika, where Biggles pancakes a damaged plane down into a fiord and Ginger inquires, "D'you always land like that?" of his mentor.
I did try to like Ginger in Black Peril. I really really did, but he really was too rude to Algy. There are many things I can forgive, but repeated insults to my hero are not one of them.
I do think that it is a pity that Ginger became more and more bland as the series progressed. Towards the end it did seem as though Johns only had him there to ask questions that Biggles the Genius could then answer in his typical genius way.
What are your favorite Ginger moments? Share in the comments below!
Another nice moment is in Swastika, where Biggles pancakes a damaged plane down into a fiord and Ginger inquires, "D'you always land like that?" of his mentor.
I did try to like Ginger in Black Peril. I really really did, but he really was too rude to Algy. There are many things I can forgive, but repeated insults to my hero are not one of them.
I do think that it is a pity that Ginger became more and more bland as the series progressed. Towards the end it did seem as though Johns only had him there to ask questions that Biggles the Genius could then answer in his typical genius way.
What are your favorite Ginger moments? Share in the comments below!
Share The Love: Algy
As far as I'm concerned, any Algy moment is a great Algy moment. He can light up a room just by walking into it.
Among my very very favorite scenes are: Algy sneering that he is the world champion of Snakes and Ladders in Swastika, rescuing Biggles in Von Stalhein's car in Swastika, Algy getting shot but bringing the plane in to land in Biggles in the Blue, Algy fearlessly facing down an old enemy in Biggles & Co., Algy in Goes to War complaining that he doesn't mind getting shot as long as the firing squad get on with it and not leave him waiting while their general reads his morning correspondence...I could go on for hours here.
Who does Algy have the best chemistry with? Undoubtedly Biggles. He and Bertie can produce some funny moments, and he and Ginger can bicker quite nicely, but it's always the conversations with Biggles that have me melting into a little puddle on the floor. Algy knows Biggles' head inside out, and the two of them are so alike in so many ways. In Little Green God Algy insists on parachuting down to check on what appears to be a person. When Biggles protests, Algy says simply that "[if we leave that person stranded], I shan't sleep tonight; nor, if I know anything, will you."
How can you not love someone like that?
What are your favorite Algy moments? What do you like most about him? Share the love in the comments below!
Among my very very favorite scenes are: Algy sneering that he is the world champion of Snakes and Ladders in Swastika, rescuing Biggles in Von Stalhein's car in Swastika, Algy getting shot but bringing the plane in to land in Biggles in the Blue, Algy fearlessly facing down an old enemy in Biggles & Co., Algy in Goes to War complaining that he doesn't mind getting shot as long as the firing squad get on with it and not leave him waiting while their general reads his morning correspondence...I could go on for hours here.
Who does Algy have the best chemistry with? Undoubtedly Biggles. He and Bertie can produce some funny moments, and he and Ginger can bicker quite nicely, but it's always the conversations with Biggles that have me melting into a little puddle on the floor. Algy knows Biggles' head inside out, and the two of them are so alike in so many ways. In Little Green God Algy insists on parachuting down to check on what appears to be a person. When Biggles protests, Algy says simply that "[if we leave that person stranded], I shan't sleep tonight; nor, if I know anything, will you."
How can you not love someone like that?
What are your favorite Algy moments? What do you like most about him? Share the love in the comments below!
Share The Love: Biggles
In my opinion, the best Biggles moments in
the books have to be the ones where Algy is concerned. Terai is one of my favorite books because the whole book is
basically Biggles worried about Algy and wondering if Algy is all right, and
determined not to give up until Algy is found.
 |
| Image from biggles-online.com |
Flies
East, of course, has one of the most classic
Biggles-worried-about-Algy moments, when Biggles goes to pieces thinking that
he has shot down Algy. The description of Biggles’ breakdown isn’t a long one,
but it is powerful and shows the depths of his friendship with Algy.
I’m trying to think whether there are any
fantastic fangirl worthy Biggles moments when Biggles is with Ginger or Bertie,
and frankly I’m coming up empty at the moment. Biggles and Algy together have
amazing chemistry, and the banter exchanged between them in almost every
conversation is hilarious and showcases the wonderful relationship between
them. Whenever they are apart they worry about each other, and if someone
should hurt one of them, you can be sure that the other will be on the warpath
very soon.
What are your favorite Biggles moments? Any
Bertie and Ginger related ones? Feel free to share in the comments section
below!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)